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I've been browsing the forum and posting mostly because I'm not sure where to start on this costume. Information overload D:! I'm not trying to make replica quality props because I simply don't have the money to invest, but I also want the pieces to be sturdier than cardboard or styrofoam. Any thoughts?

The cloth is no problem, I'm just struggling with where to start with the armor props. I have a toy helmet from that I'm going to ding up and have gray underarmor already (if that helps with price range idea)

Actually my wife is a Burlesque performer also. I really think the armor sections need to just be foam or cloth wrapped around foam. Same with the gauntlets. The actual hard armor is going to be difficult move in. I'd just get a Rubies helmet, maybe mod it alittle and repaint.

Download the WOF templates for the appropriate size and buy sintra / foam pvc as mentioned before. Cut with a box cutter & form in your oven to your body. Stuff is super light weight and cheap, along with durable. You can move just fine with this stuff on. Attach industrial stickey back velcro hard portion on the back of the plates. Buy sew on soft side velcro to sew onto your vest. Buy a Jango 2 piece, glue it together, quick putty/bondo job to the top & fiberglass the inside if you want it sturdy.

I will be sure to post pictures of progress/questions and of course of the final piece

Could you exaggerate a bit about the molding in the oven part?

you can either heat it in the oven or use a heat gun to get the sintra or pvc soft then you hold it up to you body where you would be wearing it to form to your body shape make sure you wear thick clothing or you will get burned

Just grab some simple mechanics gloves or whatever..nothing with a rich texture to it, or the texture will get en-grained in the hot plastic. So you turn the oven on 175, place the piece in there and watch it carefully. After a minute or two, the plastic will get slightly floppy. Don't let it get super floppy or the shape of the plate will distort. Despite what people may believe, sintra has a "grain" to it like wood. the plastic will elongate with the grain if it's heated too high or too long. Anyways, take it out and lay it on your body or mannequin and smooth it with your hands so it matches the curves of your body. In a minute or two i will harden. Or you can shock it to be hard by quickly rinsing it in cold water.

if you are meaning "dents" as smaller details in the armor, i would shape the armor, then let it cool and get its shape, then use a heatgun, or hairdryer, or a lighter even (be careful with the lighter, it will actually melt the material if your not careful), heat the spot up where you want the dent, then use some kind of tool, like the butt-end of a screwdriver, or chisel, to make the dents...use different sizes, and you can even use different sizes on one dent, to give it a more realistic look to it...for instance, heat up the spot, then use a larger tool for a larger area, let it cool, then heat up again, and use a smaller tool in the middle of the first dent to give the dent 2 different shapes...=) make the second, smaller dent a little deeper than the first, larger dent...

Thanks for the heads up. I can tell this project is going to be one to remember haha. Any suggestions on the thickness of sintra I should use? I'm thinking the thicker it is, the more realistic/durable it will look. Is that an ok assumption to make or will it effect the way the heating works?

I also recommend the 3mm or 1/8th inch stuff too. It's cheaper, heats faster and forms easier. 6mm is nice, but will be a pain for boob chest plates. The trick I use on the 3mm is I get a Dremel and round the edges of the plates. that causes it to look less like sheets of plastic and more like pounded metal. Also adds the illusion of thickness.

I finished cutting out the armor from the Sintra today and plan on molding in tonight, so I'll post some pictures very very soon. I'm going to make a trip to Michael's to buy the materials that I need for the belt + wookie braids. I'm putting off the jetpack because the template is a little bit vague so it's taking a bit more time. Plus I'm cutting it out of foam board and considering buying a different material because it's tougher to cut through than I thought it'd be.

The undershirt I have is black and the tights I'll be wearing are gray - thoughts on that? I'm not going without pants since Halloween is crazy and not trying to get molested lol. How much better/worse do you think the costume is if I don't go 100% gray? Since the costume is hugely varied I don't think I'll get a lot of flak from the hardcore fans about wearing 2 different colors ... but you would know best, haha.

For your belt' you'll do better buying a yard of leather/pleather or even fake suede looking fabric from Joanns to make the belt ala Batninja's tutorial. You are on the right track with the jetpack. You can use pvc pipes for the three main sections. I think as long as you wear a gray undershirt & trackpants or tights that would look good. I don't know what you mean about undershirt though. Are you talking about the flakvest? If so, go to a salvation army or value village and try to find a turtleneck thicker shirt that is white-ish. My girlfriend's Mando uses a cheerleader top we found at Value Village. We just removed the logos & cut off the sleeves, leaving alittle like Boba's flakvest to attach the shoulder bells. Then we cut the back & sewn in a zipper.

As promised, here are pictures. I had to cut some corners to stay within budget but I'm happy with what i have so far. A lot of stuff, like the belt and blaster, is not to scale because it would just be too bulky for me. I bought some fabric for the shoulder cape today - any tips on how to go about dying it? I bought the fabric dye so that's going to be my project when I get home tonight. Should I use a bucket or just try it out in the sink? Will it stain my bathtub if i try to do it in there?

Who knows.. the jetpack was a lot of trial and error before I got into the swing of it so maybe around 12ish hours and still working on it now. It's missing the bottom pieces and the thrusters which I'm adding right after I post. I had to cut the plastic out with a box cutter, so that was tedious as all hell, took around 30 minutes per piece. The belt wasn't so bad because I worked on it in between the spray painting, so 2-4 hours I'd say for that. The gun is just the Hasbro one spray painted black and the helmet I got at Target.

Question - can I remold a piece of the sintra if I've already spray painted it?

you can remould sintra after you've painted it but the paint will crack if you bend it to far and you have to heat it in water instead of in the oven to stop the paint from burning. it might be easier to sand it down and remould.

Alright good, I was scared to do it without knowing for sure and end up having to cut out another piece. I'm right there with ya, this is a first step for me in many revisions/improvements of this costume